Former New Orleans paramedic awarded $1.5 million in damages in lawsuit against ambulance maker

A federal court jury awarded a former New Orleans paramedic more than $1.5 million in damages this week for injuries he sustained while treating a gunshot victim in the back of an ambulance. The jury found the ambulance manufacturer, Medtec Ambulance Corp., knowingly designed a dangerous ambulance bench seat that caused paramedic Ryan Earls' injuries in December 2010.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneWhen the ambulance hit a bump, a faulty bench seat collapsed, sending a paramedic sprawling, his attorney said. This ambulance was photographed at the scene of a shooting in January 2009.

Earls, 26, was in the rear of the ambulance working on the patient when the truck apparently hit a bump. The faulty bench seat collapsed and Earls was sent sprawling, said his attorney, David Oestreicher. Earls wrenched his back and himself had to be removed from the ambulance at the hospital, Oestreicher said.

He sustained bulging discs in his back and nerve damage.

Earls' partner, paramedic Matthew Alewine, recalled that the seat "imploded," its bracket and hinges had come off, and screws stripped from the wall, according to court filings. Alewine was driving the ambulance that night while Earls tended to the patient.

A voicemail message left with Medtec was not returned Tuesday. The company's local counsel did not return a call for comment.

New Orleans Emergency Medical Services entered a 10-year lease agreement for 15 Medtech ambulances in 2010, according to a company news release.

The company trumpeted the agreement at the time, noting that their "super-duty ambulances are built to handle the demands of the city's rugged streets."

Months later, Earls sustained his injury in a new ambulance. "The city bought what they thought were good ambulances that were all sizzle, no steak," Oestreicher said.

New Orleans EMS did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the ambulances Tuesday.

The jury's award to Earls included $200,000 for his loss of future wages and benefits, $600,000 in medical expenses and $700,000 for his pain and suffering.

The five-day trial took place in U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle's courtroom.

Earls returned to work as a dispatcher with New Orleans EMS, Oestreicher said, but found the job difficult due to his nerve damage. The city fired him in January because he could not do his job, his attorney said.